HARLEQUINADE - MANUSCRIPT FLAP-BOOK A seventeenth century manuscript pictorial flap-book 'Painte...

HARLEQUINADE - MANUSCRIPT FLAP-BOOK A seventeenth century manuscript pictorial flap-book 'Painted By Sal. Court, Price 2s.', on paper, ink and watercolour (green, pink, red, yellow and brown), on 10 sheets (5 full-page with two 4-line verses enclosing central large illustration, with a one-panel illustration on the verso; 5 shorter, as issued, with one 4-line verse and illustration), minor archival tissue repairs to all leaves (mostly at folds, a few resulting in small loss of image), stitched in original partial plain wrappers, 265 x 160mm., [c.1753] Footnotes: A scarce 1750s handsomely illustrated manuscript 'harlequinade' or 'metamorphoses', a 'spectacular type of illustrated book that make extensive use of various techniques to engage young readers through multimedia presentations of words and images' (Jacqueline Reid-Walsh, 'Eighteenth-Century Flap Books for Children. Allegorical Metamorphosis and Spectacular Transformation', in The Princeton University Library Chronicle, Vol. 68, No. 3, Spring 2007). The narrative follows the tale of Adam and Eve as the life span of mankind, including images of Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel, mermaid, lion rampant, griffin and eagle with baby, man with moneybags, skeleton, etc., with accompanying verses. The opening verse is 'Here [in red] Adam first comes on the stage/Eve [in red] taken from his side/Was [in red] given him in marriage/Turn [in red] up and see his bride', both setting the scene of the story and also encouraging the reader to move the first flap of the book. In 1767 the London publisher Robert Sayer published a version of 'Adam and Eve', the first of several 'harlequins' he issued and which are seen as the earliest printed examples of the format. The final verse reads 'On this false world vain was my stay/and empty was my laughter/I go before and load the way/and thou com'st jogging after. Finis'. Provenance: 'William Fisher. Book. 1753', ownership inscription on verso of final leaf. Saleroom notices: Should read eighteenth century (i.e. c.1753) not seventeenth century manuscript This lot is subject to the following lot symbols: • • Zero rated for VAT, no VAT will be added to the Hammer Price or the Buyer's Premium. For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com For further information about this lot please visit the lot listing

Saleroom Notice:
Should read eighteenth century (i.e. c.1753) not seventeenth century manuscript